I really don't understand mob mentality ...and those gits who just take advantage of a bad situation...
Things that piss me off?
Insurance companies... So they have a standard clause (apparently) for travel insurance that goes something like: if you know of something that might mean your trip could be affected or cancelled then you are not covered for that thing.
So then a volcanic eruption that began on the 4th of June counts as a known risk and therefore anyone travelling to that part of the world with travel insurance (that booked their trip or took out insurance after that date) is not covered if their flights are delayed or cancelled due to the ash cloud from that particular volcano.
Great! ...Flights have virtually returned to normal now but the Puyehue - Cordon Caulle rift is still erupting at a lower level. It could go back to dormancy or it could continue to erupt at a low level with no effect on flights. On the other hand it could get a lot worse again at any time ...now, in the next few months or the next few years.
Problem is that the insurance companies won't give an end date for a particular 'event'. I would have assumed that, since things are almost back to normal now, a larger eruption that once again affects flights would be a new 'event' and we should be covered. Apparently not the case.
What does all this mean? It means that I'm probably not going to Antarctica in November and I lose a $3000 deposit. The only alternative is to travel without insurance for volcanic ash clouds from that volcano which could stop us from reaching Ushuaia on the day we need to get on the ship. If that happened then our loss would be closer to $30000. That's a risk I can't take.
This doesn't just affect all Antarctic trips for the summer season, but also all Patagonian trips and could also affect any trip to the southern half of South America (Buenos Aires and everything south). A major and hidden problem for the travel industry.
You could say that I'm not a happy camper at the moment, but that would be a massive understatement.
